Thinking of relocating from Boston to Raleigh (Durham, Cary: cul-de-sac, crime)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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My husband is very much interested in moving from Boston to Raleigh because of the low cost of housing and comparable salary. He feels that we can provide much more to our kids in terms of our time. I am very scared of the move as we hold good jobs and I believe that MA school system is the best in the country. BUT WEATHER SUCKS and I hate not to have an option of leaving my job to spend more time with my kids. It is way too expensive to survive on one salary.
I am afraid that grass might not be greener on other side as well and I might land up in a place with no career, no family (relatives) and bad school system for my kids.
Have you had the opportunity to come down and look around? Not a vacation, but a chance to really look at the area/areas you're considering? My own family relocated here from Florida 3 years ago, and as a teacher I can say with absolute certainty that the Wake schools are better than Florida, but I can't compare to MA for you. If you make it down for a look around, tour some of the schools. They are accomodating, and usually will gladly show you around. I taught at a traditional middle school, and my daughter is in year-round elementary school (by our choice), so I have some insight in that respect. We have been very happy with the schools, from a teacher, a parent, and a student's perspective. Feel free to pm or search my previous posts for specifics on the subject.
As to whether or not you'll be happy here - you sound apprehensive about it, but if you look for like-minded people, you'll find them here. This is a diverse area with people from all parts of the country. Come take a look around and see how you like it!
My husband is very much interested in moving from Boston to Raleigh because of the low cost of housing and comparable salary. He feels that we can provide much more to our kids in terms of our time. I am very scared of the move as we hold good jobs and I believe that MA school system is the best in the country. BUT WEATHER SUCKS and I hate not to have an option of leaving my job to spend more time with my kids. It is way too expensive to survive on one salary.
I am afraid that grass might not be greener on other side as well and I might land up in a place with no career, no family (relatives) and bad school system for my kids.
Stick to Chapel Hill or Wake County and you won't have a bad school system for your children. I know that 'The South' is often considered sub-par when it comes to education in the North, and I am not saying the rural areas don't have major issues at times, but that is not all there is to North Carolina by far.
When we relocated we did not accept the offer until I could check out the schools completely and find out if it was going to be possible for our daughter to get the same standard of education we would have had in the North. I am happy to say that she isn't getting the same level...she's getting a better one in many ways.
Come check out the school districts in person...it was the only thing that put my mind at ease.
As for jobs, well, they don't grow on trees, but there are plenty of oppertunites around...you just have to put some effort into it and at most, look at options you may not have considered before.
Thanks for your reply. Only thing is how can we make a judgment by just visiting to a school. Best material in the class does not assure the best education. Forum can be over whelming sometime. But you are right we should make a visit to get a feel of a place. In fact we are planning to fly down to NC in feb….
Thanks for your reply. Only thing is how can we make a judgment by just visiting to a school. Best material in the class does not assure the best education. Forum can be over whelming sometime. But you are right we should make a visit to get a feel of a place. In fact we are planning to fly down to NC in feb….
No, a visit doesn't tell you everything, but you will be able to get a feel for the staff, see how the kids are behaving (make sure you stay for a class change if the school has them. (some elementary’s do, others don’t.), look at the curriculum find out what the school's philosophy...that sort of thing.
What specifically are you worried about with the schools? Maybe someone has experienced the issue and can tell you how it was resolved? Staff? Other kids? Books?
I have found that down here if you put a priority on education your child is going to get a good education.
One great thing about moving into Wake County (or Chapel Hill to an extent) is that your children are not going to be considered outsiders or the ‘new kid’ for very long.
Thanks.. Do you know about Frankline Academy school . I know that they have lottery system but I still want to visit that school.
LOL....I actually live across the woods (soon to be a greenway) from the Franklin Academy elementary school and my daughter has several friends that either went, or still go there.
It's a good, small school. Uniforms, year-around calender, heavy parental involvement, but yes, as you note, hard to get into to. The waiting list gets long and longer. I don't note that what they teach is all that much different then what we had at WFE (Beleive me, I grilled my daugther's friends and parents! LOL!) The main difference seems to be class size...but not even that isn't all that different.
If you are going to visit there, make sure you also visit Wake Forest Elementary. It's a Magnet school, offers great electives from first grade on, and it's one of the few that doesn't have a lottery. If you live in it's base area you go there. There is also Jones Dairy elementary (a little further out), Heritage Elementary and Forest Pines (a Modular campus and temp home of Wakefield Elementary until that school is built. Parents filed lawsuits over it at the time, but now, I hear nothing but good things about it and parents are happy. It is scheduled to become a school it it's own right I believe..but don't quote me on that.)
I feel the same way as you. I am from MA and have been trying to get my husband to think about moving to NC for a couple of years now. We have visited twice but don't seem to have that same ephiphany feeling that most people do when they visit. I want a nice house in a nice neighborhood with good schools and good people with nice weather and want to be able to live on one salary so that I can stay home with my children. It's hard to stay here in MA because I know the the places that I want to live and the schools I want my children to go to but they are way out of our price range. Its where I grew up but nowadays its not the same (ie not as affordable). If we went to NC we would be leaving a lot of our family and friends but I think that if we don't try it now when our children are young then we never will. I don't like the idea of a county school system where my children could have to change schools alot but I am not sure if that is the exception or the norm right now. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I know where you are coming from in MA and good luck in whatever you decide to do!!
MEM and Tina -- just wanted to say I've been there, too! My wife and I moved down from Boston for many of the same reasons you've listed. In case it's helpful, I wanted to re-post something I had earlier posted to the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill forum in terms of area-to-area comparisons...
"Let me add some thoughts on what the cities are like from a metro Boston comparison sense (having grown up in Florida and then spending 10 years in Boston/Cambridge before moving to Durham)--
Durham: As though you took Cambridge/Somerville and then mixed in a little bit of Milton with Dorchester. And like Boston, yeah, they border each other!
Cary: Think Natick/Wellesley moved 5 miles closer to the city on the Mass Pike.
Raleigh: Inside-the-beltline reminds me of Newton. North Raleigh reminds me more of Framingham.
Chapel Hill: Move a major state university to the middle of Brookline.
Carrboro: Imagine if Arlington bordered Brookline (and were more liberal!)
Hillsborough: A less-upscale, more agrarian Lexington/Concord.
Apex/Holly Springs: Like the 495 suburbs.
Johnston County: Think southern N.H. -- older ag/industrial areas turning in to bedroom communities.
Basically... if you like the urban experiences of Boston proper and the surrounding core, and dislike gated communities, cul-de-sacs, etc. ... you'd probably be happiest in ITB Raleigh, Durham, Carrboro. If urban areas make you uncomfortable and you prefer a suburban, more car-oriented environment... then the Wake/Johnston suburbs may be more for you. For us, as ex-Cantabs... that was totally Durham, but it's a different choice for everyone. One of my wife's best friends grew up with her in southern N.H., lives in Durham too, and isn't nearly as happy with the city, but she also never lived _in_ a city before.
We've been here a couple of years now and really love Durham and the Triangle. My wife and I miss some things about Boston -- the T (definitely), Fenway, and the amazing history -- but we like it here. I've lived in lots of other places in the South, including Richmond, suburban D.C. (Montgomery Co. Md.), Louisville, central/north Florida... and have enjoyed none of them as much as this area.
Crime is on lots of folks' mind as they consider the move. Even in Durham, which has the highest nominal crime level in a relatively overall low-crime region, there really is very little of what you would call "random" crime. Sure, gang and drug-related violence happens... but is confined to certain hard-hit areas (which is a cause of real concern for those who are caught there.) There is almost none of the "home invasion" phenomenon you hear about in Orlando or other fast-growing cities. We walk home from the movie theater at 11pm at night and feel perfectly safe doing so, but we've also been city dwellers for years, too. I feel safer here, generally speaking, than I ever did in Boston.
Good luck with your move..."
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